Slow Cooker Molasses Baked Beans
These freeze well so I make a crock pot full and freeze in smaller amounts for a quick side dish. Good with pulled pork and cole slaw
These freeze well so I make a crock pot full and freeze in smaller amounts for a quick side dish. Good with pulled pork and cole slaw
- Carbohydrate 65.7261018312126 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.952380181397665 g
- Fiber 13.9679711183946 g
- Protein 13.1869031148617 g
- Saturated Fat 0.114610315484987 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (153g)
- Sodium 346.00018675274 mg
- Sugar 51.7581307128181 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 312 calories
Step-by-step
- Soak beans overnight, drain, cook until starting to soften.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir well
- Cover, cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, stirring occasionally.
Soaking dry navy beans overnight determines whether the final batch turns out uniformly tender or stubbornly chalky in the center. Dried legumes require adequate hydration time before they encounter the acidic environment of ketchup and molasses, which can otherwise lock starches inside a rigid cell wall and prevent softening during the long simmer. Dry beans cost a fraction of canned alternatives, making this large-yield pot an economical staple for batch cooking.
- Soak the three cups of dry beans in cold water for eight to twelve hours, or use a quick-boil method by simmering them for one hour before draining.
- Maintain a cooking temperature on the LOW setting for eight to ten hours to allow the starches to gelatinize fully without splitting the bean skins.
- Add water in small increments if the mixture thickens too quickly during the long cooking window, ensuring the liquid stays just below the top of the beans.
- Freeze the cooked portions in airtight containers for up to three months, thawing overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Substitute salt pork or thick-cut pancetta for the bacon if preferred, keeping the total fat quantity minimal to balance the heavy sweetness of the brown sugar and molasses.
Standard slow cookers handle this dense mass efficiently, though ceramic inserts retain heat differently than metal pots. Stirring the mixture occasionally prevents the sugars from scorching against the bottom heating element.
